In March 2025, Google finished rolling out its core update, putting an end to the volatility marketers experienced with search rankings. The update started on March 13th and has ushered in a massive change in search visibility for multiple domains, making big waves.
Analysis of the rollout data revealed that SERP volatility peaked over the past 12 months. Unprecedented movement was registered when the systems examined more than 100,000 home services terms. The data was also supported by SISTRIX, Google’s update radar. Modifications were being observed beginning March 16th in the US and UK markets.
Fine-tuning Forum content
The update mostly indicates Google’s increased emphasis on the worth of forum posts. Forum websites enjoyed enhanced visibility for almost 18 months after Google’s hidden gems update in mid-2023. However, forum sites are now losing substantial visibility. Several popular platforms that hosted many forum sites recorded a steep decline in visibility.
Reddit continued with its visibility trend, and it was also one of the many sites that benefited in 2023 from changes in the algorithm. Some say that the glory days of forum ranking are coming to an end.
Other patterns
Potential patterns observed in the update are:
Devaluation of forum content, where forums other than Reddit took a hit on visibility, even when they gained visibility earlier.
Penalties for programmatic content are being imposed, especially on sites hosting high volumes of programmatic pages. Point to be noted – sites created explicitly for SEO rather than user value are experiencing declines.
The impact is wide and across sectors such as retail, government, content publishers, and forums, which would otherwise only target certain industries.
Industry experts believe that Google is trying to improve diversity in search results and is combating content that holds the least value. The adjustment also points to the integration of AI-generated content in the search results.
So, what happens to SEO?
The updates are complete, and SEO professionals can assess the impact the change has had on their sites. They can implement appropriate strategies. Yet, it is Google’s way of saying that it prefers quality over quantity, and forum content managers must know that just having a forum is not sufficient to rank.
Sites must improve content quality if they have to stay in the race, especially if the update has impacted them. You must remove low-value or programmatic pages and make way for content that truly addresses the searcher’s needs rather than floating a site only for SEO purposes.
